Corewell nurses vote to join Teamsters union

BY JON KING, MICHIGAN ADVANCE

MICHIGAN—With nearly 60% of the vote, nurses at eight hospitals across Southeast Michigan have voted to unionize.

According to the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) Region 7-Detroit office, more than 8,300 nurses voted over the course of three days last week 4,958 to 2,957 for union representation by Nurses for Nurses, a Committee of Michigan Teamsters Joint Council No. 43.

The NLRB says there were 418 challenged ballots, but because they aren’t determinative to the outcome of the election, they won’t be counted.

“Despite Corewell waging one of the most expensive and aggressive union-busting campaigns we’ve ever seen, these nurses knew their value and were determined to become Teamsters,” said Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien. “Corewell nurses chose the Teamsters because they knew it was the only way to secure a strong union contract.”

The petition for a union election was filed Sept. 27 with the NLRB Region 7-Detroit office for 9,775 nurses at Corewell Health Southeast Michigan in Southfield. Corewell was previously known as Beaumont.

With the success of the vote, Corewell is now required to begin bargaining in good faith with the union.

The NLRB said this was one of the largest petitions for an election in recent history, noting for context that the 2022 union vote at Amazon in Staten Island involved about 8,300 employees, while the UAW vote for workers at the Mercedes plant in Alabama covered 5,200 workers.

Recently, nearly 2,700 medical workers represented by SEIU Healthcare Michigan ratified a three-year agreement with Michigan Medicine.

“Corewell Health nurses in Southeast Michigan voted to be represented by the Brotherhood of Teamsters for the purposes of collective bargaining. The results are not yet certified,” said Mark Geary, the senior director of communications for Corewell Health. “We value all our nurses and are committed to moving forward together, united by our mission to provide high-quality care to our patients and the communities we serve.”

Eligible voters for the Corewell election included both full-time and regular part-time registered nurses, including casual nurses, contingent nurses, flex nurses, and charge nurses.

The eligible nurses are employed at nine locations: Corewell Health Beaumont hospitals in Grosse Pointe, Troy, Royal Oak, Farmington Hills, Wayne, Taylor, Trenton, and Dearborn, as well as at the Corewell Service Center in Southfield.

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This coverage was republished from Michigan Advance pursuant to a Creative Commons license.